Graveyard

Wolf?

Mike frowned.

But it looked like a lone wolf, which was dangerous but not too tough.

Mike quickly sized up the situation in his head, but at that very moment, the gray wolf shot forward like a shadow, lunging at him!

The village's dull, grayish backdrop practically camouflaged the beast. He heard only the thud of paws slamming into the dirt, and in a flash, the wolf's razor-sharp fangs snapped at Mike's neck.

Right when everything seemed on a knife's edge, Mike's lips quirked up in a faint smile.

He shifted his feet, twisted his torso, then bent slightly forward while swinging his Sword upward.

Dodging and countering at just the right distance—Mike's combat instincts were top-notch.

Slash!

The blade tore through fur, drawing a thin streak of blood in the air.

The gray wolf crashed to the ground, whining pitifully before bolting for the treeline.

Mike spun the blade once or twice, watching indifferently as it fled. He made no move to chase.

Given the situation, he really hadn't wanted to run into a wolf.

Wolves live in packs, with a very strong group dynamic.

Meeting a lone wolf in the wild is less likely than running into an entire pack. Judging by how glossy that one's coat was, it wasn't some drifter. Probably it caught a whiff of fresh blood from those wild-chicken carcasses, so a pack must be nearby.

Mike was well aware letting this wolf go would have consequences, but his Agility was only 5; there was no way he could keep up. The upshot? He was almost certainly headed for a showdown with the rest of the wolves.

He sighed. A whole pack, huh?

Still, Mike had an idea.

…

Tap, tap—

His footsteps crunched on dead leaves, echoing sharply.

Almost at once, more and more footsteps closed in behind him.

Birds scattered from the trees in alarm.

A huge swath of gray swept across the village path. The deep-throated snarls rumbled through the forest, scaring off little critters in every direction.

This was a wolf pack. Their collective might was impressive—enough that even lions or tigers typically avoided tangling with them.

Leading the pack was a formidable, dark-furred alpha, massive enough that it looked nearly half again as large as a bull.

They arrived fast at the place where the fight had just happened. The alpha lowered its head and sniffed the blood on the ground, then glanced back at the pack.

Though the alpha said nothing, its meaning was obvious—wasn't a human found here just moments ago?

One of the wolves—its belly still gashed—stepped forward with its tongue lolling out, almost like a dog sucking up to its owner.

Riiiip!

Suddenly, a hail of dust rose at the rear of the pack, and a giant net flung upward!

They howled in fury, savage eyes suddenly flaring with panic.

The alpha seemed to sense something then. Its gaze swept toward a collapsed section of wall.

Step, step…

Mike strolled out from behind it looking perfectly relaxed, eyeing the swinging net overhead with a grin. "Didn't think that old net I found in the village would come in handy. Looks pretty worn out, but turns out it's pretty damn sturdy."

Awooo!

The wolves snarled when they saw him, their aggression surging again. They charged forward as one!

Thud!

One wolf's paw missed its footing, sending it crashing down into a pit!

Then a second… 

A third…

In the blink of an eye, half the charging wolves had fallen in. The few burly survivors hesitated along the pit's edge, snarling but not daring to leap in.

Mike eyed the alpha mockingly. "What's wrong? I'm just one guy—come at me."

The alpha simply stared at him, cold and calculating.

Mike considered for a second, then pulled out a long stick and viciously jabbed into one of the pits.

Awooo!

A wolf's anguished yelp echoed through the woods, triggering the alpha's furious snarl.

No more hesitation. Its low growl signaled the rest of the pack, and they all poured toward Mike.

The alpha was cunning—it avoided the already-sprung traps. The remaining wolves practically leapt through the narrow middle path to get at him.

"Smart… but not quite smart enough." Mike smirked.

All at once, the ground beneath the alpha gave way. One massive, connected trap caved in, swallowing every last wolf. A freshly hollowed pit about 20 to 25 feet deep opened under their feet!

The alpha howled, thrashing around at the bottom, glaring furiously up at Mike. It could do nothing to break free.

It would probably never figure out how it ended up in that pit.

It was actually pretty simple—gravity and structural support. Mike had used long branches to prop up sections of the ground, leaving a smaller pit to pick off wolves first, then lured the rest of the pack into the bigger trap. The weight of so many wolves was enough to shatter the supports.

And at the bottom, sharpened bamboo stakes waited. They could easily pierce the wolves' bodies, dealing massive bleeding wounds that wouldn't close.

The hardest part of the entire plan was timing the bait. The alpha was super strong and sly, but to Mike, it was as clueless as a newborn chick.

…

Two hours later, Mike gripped his Sword, harvesting his spoils.

[Wolf Meat] 

[Quality: Common] 

[Effect: +5 Satiety] 

[Note: None]

Nice haul.

Although you only got one piece of meat per wolf—kind of lame. Grumbling, he casually tossed each piece of wolf meat into his backpack.

He'd never tried wolf meat in reality, but in this Custom Space, might as well give it a shot.

Besides the meat, the alpha also dropped an unexpected item—a piece of gear:

[Poison Dart] 

[Quality: D] 

[Attributes: +3 Attack, +5 Attack Range] 

[Skill: Toxin] 

[Note: Due to the Supreme Blessing, dart quantity is unlimited.]

…

For Mike, this dart was a godsend. Its infinite supply meant he could spam ranged attacks to his heart's content.

In addition, his lifespan had jumped up again. He was getting ever closer to fully activating the Supreme being's legacy.

[Remaining Lifespan: 25 days 18 hours 44 minutes] 

[Supreme being Legacy Activation: 25%] 

[Significant lifespan increase detected. Severe Weakness lifted, upgraded to Moderate Weakness.]

All four main attributes had climbed to 8 points each, and his max HP was now at 80.

Sweet!

At this point, Mike could probably have taken on the wolf alpha one-on-one without breaking a sweat.

After tidying up, Mike headed toward the edge of the village.

The quest location was somewhere outside the village, in the white fog.

Yet after walking for ages, Mike discovered that the village limits blended directly into the forest—no sign of any fog.

So maybe that journal entry was bogus?

Looking around, he noticed that the entire village was built deep in the woods. As a human settlement, it was weird not to have cleared out the surrounding area. It was like… part of the forest had been turned into something else.

Plus, Mike saw the terrain outside the village didn't match the journal. The woods sank into a lowland area, dropping lower and lower, while the diary had mentioned a mountain. That was nowhere to be found.

Still, figuring out the truth meant discovering what really happened to this place.

So he pressed on, deeper into the forest.

On the way, he came across a lot of beast carcasses, all bearing tooth marks and long-emptied innards.

Things were getting freakier by the minute. His mood turned uneasy.

Finally, a glare of white light appeared at the limit of his vision, where the forest ended.

Mike stepped out, blinking in the daylight, only to see a graveyard.

Countless headstones stretched as far as the eye could see, an endless expanse of tombs.

But all the graves had been dug up.

What the hell?

Mike's blood ran cold as a sudden realization struck him.

If that journal wasn't lying, then from here, if he looked back…

Up on the higher ground behind him, with the forest and village… that might be the "mountain."

Mike slowly turned, feeling a funeral bell toll in his mind.

Right then.

A white fog began drifting through the woods, thick as milk, with shadowy shapes flitting through it.